Career and Education Opportunities for Career Advisors in Carrollton, Texas

There is a wide variety of career and education opportunities for career advisors in the Carrollton, Texas area. About 20,640 people are currently employed as career advisors in Texas. By 2016, this is expected to grow 30% to about 26,920 people employed. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for career advisors are expected to grow by about 14.0%. In general, career advisors counsel individuals and provide group educational and vocational guidance services.

Career advisors earn approximately $25 hourly or $52,780 annually on average in Texas. Nationally they average about $24 per hour or $51,050 annually. Career advisors earn more than people working in the category of Counseling and Therapy generally in Texas and more than people in the Counseling and Therapy category nationally. Career advisors work in a variety of jobs, including: student life coordinator, guidance services coordinator, and career development director.

There are ninety-five schools of higher education in the Carrollton area, including five within twenty-five miles of Carrollton where you can get a degree to start your career as a career advisor. Given that the most common education level for career advisors is a Master's degree, it will take about six years to learn to be a career advisor if you already have a high school diploma, or just 2 years if you have a Bachelor's degree.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Career Advisor

Career Advisor video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, career advisors counsel individuals and provide group educational and vocational guidance services.

Career advisors attend staff meetings and serve on committees as required. They also attend professional meetings and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. Equally important, career advisors have to ready students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. They are often called upon to meet with other professionals to consider individual students' needs and progress. They are expected to counsel students regarding educational issues such as course and program selection, class scheduling and career planning. Finally, career advisors furnish crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.

Every day, career advisors are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings.

It is important for career advisors to identify cases involving domestic abuse or other family problems affecting students' development. They are often called upon to conduct follow-up interviews with counselees to establish if their needs have been met. They also compile and study occupational, educational, and economic data to help counselees in determining and carrying out vocational and educational objectives. They are sometimes expected to meet with parents and guardians to consider their children's progress and to establish their priorities for their children and their resource needs. Somewhat less frequently, career advisors are also expected to interview clients to obtain data related to employment history and career goals, and to pinpoint barriers to employment.

Career advisors sometimes are asked to formulate and conduct orientation programs and group conferences to promote the adjustment of individuals to new life experiences such as starting college. and enforce all administration policies and rules governing students. And finally, they sometimes have to furnish data to businesses regarding human resource and employment issues.

Like many other jobs, career advisors must have exceptional integrity and have a strong concern for others.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Carrollton include:

Child and Family Services Worker. Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist single parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers on how to deal with problem children.

Health Education Specialist. Promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. Collect and analyze data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies and environments. May also serve as a resource to assist individuals, other professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

Marriage and Family Therapist. Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of professional services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.

Mental Health Counselor. Counsel with emphasis on prevention. Work with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental health. May help individuals deal with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; suicide; stress management; problems with self-esteem; and issues associated with aging and mental and emotional health.

Probation Officer. Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.

Rehabilitation Counselor. Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.

Substance Abuse Specialist. Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. May counsel individuals, families, or groups or engage in prevention programs.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Career Advisor Training

University of North Texas - Denton, TX

University of North Texas, Chestnut Ave., Denton, TX 76203-1277. University of North Texas is a large university located in Denton, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 34,795 students and an admission rate of 64%. University of North Texas has postbaccalaureate certificate, master's degree, and doctor's degree programs in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services which graduated zero, eighty-two, and ten students respectively in 2008.

Texas Woman's University - Denton, TX

Texas Woman's University, 304 Administration Dr, Denton, TX 76201. Texas Woman's University is a large university located in Denton, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 12,341 students and an admission rate of 56%. Texas Woman's University has a master's degree and a post-master's certificate program in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services which graduated thirty-six and zero students respectively in 2008.

Dallas Baptist University - Dallas, TX

Dallas Baptist University, 3000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75211-9299. Dallas Baptist University is a medium sized university located in Dallas, Texas. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 5,297 students and an admission rate of 47%. Dallas Baptist University has a master's degree program in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services which graduated fifty students in 2008.

Texas Christian University - Fort Worth, TX

Texas Christian University, 2800 S University Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76129. Texas Christian University is a medium sized university located in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 8,696 students and an admission rate of 50%. Texas Christian University has a master's degree program in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services which graduated fifteen students in 2008.

Texas Wesleyan University - Fort Worth, TX

Texas Wesleyan University, 1201 Wesleyan St, Fort Worth, TX 76105-1536. Texas Wesleyan University is a small university located in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 3,202 students and an admission rate of 68%. Texas Wesleyan University has a master's degree program in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services which graduated ten students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Professional in Learning and Performance:
The Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) offered by the ASTD Certification Institute offers workplace learning and performance (WLP) professions an opportunity to enhance credibility and prove value in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Distance Credential Facilitator:
Individuals who obtain the Distance Credentialed Facilitator (DCF) title can effectively provide assistance to clients in the area of life career development and planning.

Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist:
The Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) believes that individuals certified as vocational assessment professionals (CVE, CWA, and CCAA) must continue to expand their skills to enhance the quality of services they provide.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Carrollton, Texas

Carrollton, Texas photo by Drumguy8800

Carrollton is situated in Dallas County, Texas. It has a population of over 125,595, which has grown by 14.6% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Carrollton, 90, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Carrollton are valued at $265,200 on average, which is far greater than the state average. In 2008, one hundred sixty-seven new homes were constructed in Carrollton, down from one hundred ninety-nine the previous year.

The three most popular industries for women in Carrollton are educational services, finance and insurance, and health care. For men, it is professional, scientific, and technical services, construction, and accommodation and food services. The average commute to work is about 27 minutes. More than 37.0% of Carrollton residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 9.6%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Carrollton is 7.7%, which is less than Texas's average of 8.1%.

The percentage of Carrollton residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 55.1%, is more than the national average but less than the state average. Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana Church, Redeemer Covenant Church and Christian Life Assembly of God Church are all churches located in Carrollton. The most common religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church.

Carrollton is home to the Elm Fork Filtration Plant and the A W Perry Homestead Museum as well as Thomas Park and Hebron High School Baseball Field.